Cranberry-Orange-Banana-Spinach - Green Smoothie
Can green smoothies stop junk food cravings? There are many easily found testimonials all over the internet testifying that this is true. Drinking whole raw foods blended in to a nice smooth drink can help overcome addictive cravings for coffee and donuts. There is no magic in drinking a green smoothie and 'poof' our cravings for junk foods are gone. It is the gradual change of a bad habit. Drinking a green smoothie is taking the first step to replacing a bad eating habit with a better one. It is a conscious choice you make daily to replace the soda or doughnut with a green smoothie or choose to blend up a smoothie the night before so you are not tempted to take a drive-thru in the morning. What is in a Green Smoothie? Green smoothies are fresh, raw food that contain fruits, seeds, nuts, vegetables ,and most importantly dark, leafy greens. These power-packed drinks are full of phytonutrients, anti-oxidants, and live enzymes. After one of these, your appetite is fully satisfied. Green smoothies are capable of replacing a meal, being a quick snack, or a breakfast on the go. What is in Junk Food that causes us to crave it? Junk food has very little or no nutrition at all. Sadly consumers are tricked into purchasing products that should have no part of being in our body. Packaging and marketing techniques target our ‘sweet spots‘ that get us to buy and bring into our homes these poisonous little time bombs to feed to ourselves and our children. Sugar is a main ingredient in junk food, as well as oil and salt. Sugar is a highly addictive substance that some scientists have compared with hard drugs. I have often heard of sugar as ‘kids crack’. There is much truth in that statement. Slurp down a soda, or throw back a packet of Twinkies and you get a rush or ‘pick-me-up’ until you crash. Then the process is either repeated or thought about until repeated. How can a Green Smoothie stop junk food cravings? The difference between real fruits and vegetables in a smoothie and junk food is that your body can sense the nutrients flooding your system with smoothies and signals when it has had enough. On the contrary, junk food has no nutrition and your body ends up eating more and more awaiting the signal that enough nutrients are consumed. Foods used to make green smoothies make you feel good and stable. Junk foods make you feel bloated and sick. A small search on GreenSmoothieGirl’s testimonials produced the following quotes: “I feel less like eating junk food when I’m eating lots of greens and fruits and veggies” “Greens will help stop junk food cravings by giving it (the body) the nutrients it (the body) is craving” “The more greens in my diet the less I crave junk” Why do we crave what is not healthy for us and not crave what our body really needs, like broccoli and Brussels Sprouts? The additives and flavor enhancers in processed junk food, like refined white sugar and MSG, are addictive substances that easily gets us hooked to the junk food and wanting more. Or it tricks the brain into thinking this food we are eating is good. The desire for these foods increase and become addictive. Raw foods do not contain these substances. However, once your body is continuously filled with the nutrients it strongly needs (from green smoothies), the desire for junk food seems to diminish. For some, it may take days. For others, it may take months of a daily (or several times a day) green smoothie to kick this dangerous habit. The rewards are great in the end. The easiest way to start is to just do it, but with small steps. Start with a kitchen blender, any blender will do to get you started. Try a combination of ingredients until you find the right taste for you. For a simple beginner green smoothie recipe, blend the following ingredients: 1 cup liquid (water or milk) 1 big handful of fresh spinach (spinach is a sweet green that can’t be tasted in the smoothie) 1 banana 1 handful of frozen blueberries or strawberries (or whatever frozen fruit you have) From this recipe you can add different types of greens, different vegetables, more fruit or less and so on. To make the transition easier start with more fruit and less veggies and slowly change the ratio to more veggies as your taste buds adapt. Blend up a big batch of Green Smoothie and take with you to work or keep in a container in the fridge to drink on through out the day. Here is a quick smoothie recipe to get you started: Cranberry-Orange-Banana-Spinach | Green Smoothie 1 1/2 cups apple cider 2 handfuls of fresh spinach leaves 1 orange, peeled (add a few small peelings/zest) 1/2 to 3/4 cup raw cranberries 1 banana, peeled Add all of the ingredients to your blender and blend well.